Laws of Chess

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APPENDICES. A.

Adjourned games

A1.

a.

b.

If a game is not finished at the end of the time prescribed for play, the arbiter shall require the player having the move to 'seal' that move. The player must write his move in unambiguous notation on his scoresheet, put his scoresheet and that of his opponent in an envelope, seal the envelope and only then stop his clock without starting the opponent's clock. Until he has stopped the clocks, the player retains the right to change his sealed move. If, after being told by the arbiter to seal his move, the player makes a move on the chessboard, he must write that same move on his scoresheet as his sealed move. A player having the move, who adjourns the game before the end of the playing session, shall be considered to have sealed at the nominal time for the end of the session , and his remaining time shall so be recorded.

A2.

The following shall be indicated upon the envelope: a. the names of the players b.the position immediately before the sealed move c. the time used by each player d.the name of the player who has sealed the move e. the number of the sealed move f. the offer of a draw, if the proposal is current. g.the date, time and venue of resumption of play.

A3.

The arbiter shall check the accuracy of the information on the envelope and is responsible for the safe-keeping of it.

A4.

If a player proposes a draw after his opponent has sealed his move, the offer is valid until the opponent has accepted it or rejected it as in Article 9.1.

A5.

Before the game is to be resumed, the position immediately before the sealed move shall be set up on the chessboard, and the times used by each player when the game was adjourned shall be indicated on the clocks.

A6.

If prior to the resumption the game is agreed drawn, or if one of the players notifies the arbiter that he resigns, the game is concluded.

A7.

The envelope shall be opened only when the player who must reply to the sealed move is present.

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Laws of Chess

A8.

Except in the cases mentioned in Article 6.10 and 9.6, the game is lost by a player whose recording of his sealed move a. is ambiguous, or b.is recorded such that its true significance is impossible to establish, or c. is illegal.

A9.

If, at the agreed resumption time a. the player having to reply to the sealed move is present, the envelope is opened, the sealed move made on the chessboard and his clock started. b. the player having to reply to the sealed move is not present, his clock shall be started. On his arrival, he may stop his clock and summon the arbiter. The envelope is then opened and the sealed move made on the chessboard. His clock is then restarted. c. the player who sealed the move is not present, his opponent has the right to record his reply on the scoresheet, seal his scoresheet in a fresh envelope, stop his clock and start the absent player's clock instead of making his reply in the normal manner. If so, the envelope shall be handed to the arbiter for safe-keeping and opened on the absent player's arrival.

A10. The player shall lose the game if he arrives at the chessboard more than one hour late for the resumption of an adjourned game (unless the rules of the competition or the arbiter decides otherwise). However, if the player who made the sealed move is the late player, the game is decided otherwise, if: a. the absent player has won the game by virtue of the fact that the sealed move is checkmate, or b. the absent player has produced a drawn game by virtue of the fact that the sealed move is stalemate, or a position as described in Article 9.6 has arisen on the chessboard, or c. the player present at the chessboard has lost the game according to Article 6.10. A11. a. If the envelope containing the sealed move is missing, the game shall continue from the position, with the clock times recorded at the time of adjournment. If the time used by each player cannot be re-established the arbiter shall set the clocks. The player who sealed the move makes the move he states he sealed on the chessboard. b. If it is impossible to re-establish the position, the game is annulled and a new game must be played. A12. If, upon resumption of the game, either player points out before making his first move that the time used has been incorrectly indicated on either clock, the error

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must be corrected. If the error is not then established the game continues without correction unless the arbiter feels that the consequences will be too severe. A13. The duration of each resumption session shall be controlled by the arbiter's timepiece. The starting time and finishing time shall be announced in advance. B.

Rapidplay

. B1.

A ‘Rapidplay’ game is one where either all the moves must be made in a fixed time from 15 to 60 minutes; or the time allotted + 60 times any increment is from 15 to 60 minutes.

B2.

Play shall be governed by the FIDE Laws of Chess, except where they are overridden by the following Laws of Rapidplay.

B3.

Players do not need to record the moves.

B4.

Once each player has completed three moves, no claim can be made regarding incorrect piece placement, orientation of the chessboard or clock setting. In case of reverse king and queen placement castling with this king is not allowed.

B5.

The arbiter shall make a ruling according to Article 4 (The act of moving pieces), only if requested to do so by one or both players.

B6.

An illegal move is completed once the opponent's clock has been started. The opponent is then entitled to claim that the player completed an illegal move before the claimant has made his move. Only after such a claim, shall the arbiter make a ruling. However, if both Kings are in check or the promotion of a pawn is not completed, the arbiter shall intervene, if possible.

B7.

The flag is considered to have fallen when a player has made a valid claim to that effect. The arbiter shall refrain from signalling a flag fall.

B8.

To claim a win on time, the claimant must stop both clocks and notify the arbiter. For the claim to be successful the claimant's flag must remain up and his opponent's flag down after the clocks have been stopped.

B9.

If both flags have fallen, the game is drawn.

C.

Blitz

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Laws of Chess

C1.

A ‘blitz’ game is one where all the moves must be made in a fixed time of less than 15 minutes for each player; or the allotted time + 60 times any increment is less than 15 minutes.

C2.

Play shall be governed by the Rapidplay Laws as in Appendix B except where they are overridden by the following Laws of Blitz. The Articles 10.2 and B6 do not apply.

C3.

An illegal move is completed once the opponent's clock has been started. The opponent is entitled to claim a win before he has made his own move. However, if the opponent cannot checkmate the player’s king by any possible series of legal moves with the most unskilled counterplay, then the claimant is entitled to claim a draw before he has made his own move. Once the opponent has made his own move, an illegal move cannot be corrected

D. Quickplay finishes where no arbiter is present in the venue. D1.

Where games are played as in Article 10, a player may claim a draw when he has less than two minutes left on his clock and before his flag falls. This concludes the game. He may claim on the basis a. that his opponent cannot win by normal means, and/or b. that his opponent has been making no effort to win by normal means. In (a) the player must write down the final position and his opponent verify it. In (b) the player must write down the final position and submit an up-to-date scoresheet. The opponent shall verify both the scoresheet and the final position. The claim shall be referred to an arbiter whose decision shall be the final one.

E. Algebraic notation FIDE recognizes for its own tournaments and matches only one system of notation, the Algebraic System, and recommends the use of this uniform chess notation also for chess literature and periodicals. Scoresheets using a notation system other than algebraic may not be used as evidence in cases where normally the scoresheet of a player is used for that purpose. An arbiter who observes that a player is using a notation system other than the algebraic should warn the player about of this requirement. Description of the Algebraic System E1.

In this description, "piece" means a piece other than a pawn.

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E2.

Each piece is indicated by the first letter, a capital letter, of its name. Example: K = king, Q = queen, R = rook, B = bishop, N = knight. (In the case of the knight, for the sake of convenience, N is used.)

E3.

For the first letter of the name of a piece, each player is free to use the first letter of the name which is commonly used in his country. Examples: F = fou (French for bishop), L = loper (Dutch for bishop). In printed periodicals, the use of figurines for the pieces is recommended.

E4

Pawns are not indicated by their first letter, but are recognised by the absence of such a letter. Examples: e5, d4, a5.

E5.

The eight files (from left to right for White and from right to left for Black) are indicated by the small letters, a, b, c, d, e, f, g and h, respectively.

E6

The eight ranks (from bottom to top for White and from top to bottom for Black) are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, respectively. Consequently, in the initial position the white pieces and pawns are placed on the first and second ranks; the black pieces and pawns on the eighth and seventh ranks.

E7

As a consequence of the previous rules, each of the sixty-four squares is invariably indicated by a unique combination of a letter and a number.

E8

Each move of a piece is indicated by (a) the first letter of the name of the piece in question and (b) the square of arrival. There is no hyphen between (a) and (b). Examples: Be5, Nf3, Rd1. In the case of pawns, only the square of arrival is indicated. Examples: e5, d4, a5.

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Laws of Chess

E9

When a piece makes a capture, an x is inserted between (a) the first letter of the name of the piece in question and (b) the square of arrival. Examples: Bxe5, Nxf3, Rxd1. When a pawn makes a capture, the file of departure must be indicated, then an x, then the square of arrival. Examples: dxe5, gxf3, axb5. In the case of an "en passant" capture, the square of arrival is given as the square on which the capturing pawn finally rests and "e.p." is appended to the notation. Example: exd6 e.p..

E10

If two identical pieces can move to the same square, the piece that is moved is indicated as follows: 1. If both pieces are on the same rank: by (a) the first letter of the name of the piece, (b) the file of the square of departure, and (c) the square of arrival. 2. If both pieces are on the same file: by (a) the first letter of the name of the piece, (b) the rank of the square of departure, and (c) the square of arrival. 3. If the pieces are on different ranks and files, method (1) is preferred. In the case of capture, an x must be inserted between (b) and (c). Examples: There are two knights, on the squares g1 and e1, and one of them moves to the square f3: either Ngf3 or Nef3, s the case may be. There are two knights, on the squares g5 and g1, and one of them moves to the square f3: either N5f3 or N1f3, as the case may be. There are two knights, on the squares h2 and d4, and one of them moves to the square f3: either Nhf3 or Ndf3, as the case may be. If a capture takes place on the square f3, the previous examples are changed by the insertion of an x: (1) either Ngxf3 or Nexf3, (2) either N5xf3 or N1xf3, (3) either Nhxf3 or Ndxf3, as the case may be.

E11

If two pawns can capture the same piece or pawn of the opponent, the pawn that is moved is indicated by (a) the letter of the file of departure, (b) an x, (c) the square of arrival. Example: If there are white pawns on squares c4 and e4 and a black pawn or piece on the square d5, the notation for White's move is either cxd5 or exd5, as the case may be.

E12

In the case of the promotion of a pawn, the actual pawn move is indicated, followed immediately by the first letter of the new piece. Examples: d8Q, f8N, b1B, g1R.

E13

The offer of a draw shall be marked as (=). Essential abbreviations: 0-0 0-0-0

castling with rook h1 or rook h8 (kingside castling) castling with rook a1 or rook a8 (queenside castling)

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x + ++ or # e.p.

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captures check checkmate captures “en passant”

Sample game: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 exd4 4. e5 Ne4 5. Qxd4 d5 6. exd6 e.p. Nxd6 7. Bg5 Nc6 8. Qe3+ Be7 9. Nbd2 0-0 10. 0-0-0 Re8 11. Kb1(=)

F. Rules for play with Blind and Visually Handicapped Players F1.

Tournament directors shall have the power to adapt the following rules according to local circumstances. In competitive chess between sighted and visually handicapped players (legally blind) either player may demand the use of two chessboards, the sighted players using a normal chessboard, the visually handicapped player using one specially constructed. The specially constructed chessboard must meet the following requirements: a. at least 20 by 20 centimetres; b. the black squares slightly raised; c. a securing aperture in each square; d. every piece provided with a peg that fits into the securing aperture; e. pieces of Staunton design, the black pieces being specially marked.

F2 The following regulations shall govern play: The moves shall be announced clearly, repeated by the opponent and executed on his chessboard. When promoting a pawn, the player must announce which piece is chosen. To make the nnouncement as clear as possible, the use of the following names is suggested instead of the orresponding letters, algebraic A-Anna B-Bella C-Cesar D-David E-Eva F-Felix G-Gustav H-Hector Ranks from white to black shall receive the German numbers: 1-eins 2-zwei 3-drei 4-vier 5-fuenf 6-sechs 7-sieben

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Laws of Chess

8-acht Castling is announced “Lange Rochade” (German for long castling) and “Kurze Rochade” (German for short castling). The pieces bear the names: Koenig, Dame, Turm, Laeufer, Springer, Bauer. 2.

3.

On the visually handicapped player’s chessboard a piece shall be considered “touched” when it has been taken out of the securing aperture. A move shall be considered “executed” when: in the case of a capture, the captured piece has been removed from the chessboard of the player whose turn it is to move; b.a piece is placed into a different securing aperture; c. the move has been announced. Only then the opponent’s clock shall be started. As far as points 2 and 3 are concerned the normal rules are valid for the sighted player.

a.

4.

A specially constructed chess clock for the visually handicapped shall be admissible. It shall incorporate the following features: a. A dial fitted with reinforced hands, with every five minutes marked by one dot, and every 15 minutes by two raised dots. b. A flag which can be easily felt. Care should be taken that the flag is so arranged as to allow the player to feel the minute hand during the last 5 minutes of the full hour.

5.

The visually handicapped player must keep score of the game in Braille or longhand or record the moves on a tape recorder.

6.

A slip of the tongue in the announcement of a move must be corrected immediately and before the clock of the opponent is started.

7.

If during a game different positions should arise on the two chessboards, they must be corrected with the assistance of the controller and by consulting both players’ game scores. If the two game scores correspond with each other, the player who has written the correct move but executed the wrong one must adjust his position to correspond with the move on the game scores.

8.

If, when such differences occur and the two game scores are found to differ, the moves shall be retraced to the point where the two scores agree and the controller shall readjust the clock accordingly.

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Laws of Chess

9.

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The visually handicapped player shall have the right to make use of an assistant who shall have any or all of the following duties: a. Make either player’s move on the chessboard of the opponent. b.Announce the moves of both players. c. Keep the game score of the visually handicapped player and start his opponent’s clock, (keeping rule 3.c in mind). d. Inform the visually handicapped player only at his request of the number of moves completed and the time used up by both players. e. Claim the game in cases where the time limit has been exceeded and inform the controller when the sighted player has touched one of his pieces. f. Carry out the necessary formalities in case the game is adjourned. If the visually handicapped player does not make use of an assistant, the sighted player may make use of one who shall carry out the duties mentioned under point 9a and b.

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